Record Bay turnout for PSL match

VUVUZELAS blared and supporters sang and danced during the clash between Kaizer Chiefs and Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday night in what turned out to be the best attended Absa Premier Soccer League (PSL) game to be held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The Chiefs supporters dominated the stands with their famous gold and black colours, with the green and white of Celtic scattered in between.

Despite the game ending in a goalless draw, fans from both sides cheered on their respective teams.

The generally more vocal Chiefs supporters were momentarily silenced when Celtic almost scored late in the game.

Fans of Chiefs' arch-rivals, Orlando Pirates, also came out in their trademark black and white colours – to support Celtic.

And, as if their cheers were not enough, the fans also carried placards with messages of support for their respective teams.

One Celtic fan's poster read: "Last weekend it was Pie-rats, this week is your turn Zebras."

A Chiefs fan's placard read: "Reclaiming the glory. Rise Khosi Rise!!!"

Chantel de Koning of Algoa Park, a first-time soccer spectator, said she enjoyed the game.

"I am more into rugby but I enjoyed the game. It was a good experience and I will definitely go again. The vibe was lekker!

"I was supporting the green team [Celtic] because I do not like the colour yellow," she said.

Songezo Nkanjeni of Kwazakhele, a Chiefs supporter, said he was not surprised to see the fans come out in their numbers.

"It shows that the supporters have been waiting for a PSL game, because I also saw fans from as far as Mthatha. It was so packed that I even struggled to get a seat.

"The game was also of a high standard, but that was to be expected because Chiefs play good football," Nkanjeni said.

Stadium communications manager Buli Ngomane said 33000 people attended the game.

"This was the biggest attendance in a PSL game at the stadium, but obviously we have had bigger numbers in other soccer matches like the Vodacom Challenge.

"We are very happy about how everything went and about the people coming out in their numbers," she said.